UConn basketball coach Jim Calhoun returned to his position Thursday following a 23-day medical leave of absence.

Calhoun was in his Gampel Pavilion office Thursday morning and "assumed his complete coaching responsibilities with no restrictions," according to a news release.

"I am excited to return to the team and my coaching staff," Calhoun said in a statment. "I appreciate the hard work by the staff and team in my absence and am looking forward to being back on the court for practice this afternoon and moving forward. I am especially thankful to people for their support during the past three weeks, but also for the respect and privacy that everyone has provided me during this time. Dr. (Peter) Schulman, my primary care physician, and I both felt that the time away was important for my personal and professional well-being and that I am ready to move ahead from this point at full speed."

Calhoun began his leave on Jan. 19 and has missed seven games since then. The Huskies, under the direction of associate coach George Blaney, went 3-4 in that span.

The Huskies lost to Syracuse 72-67 Wednesday night in a game that was tied in the final minute. Longtime Calhoun rival, friend and fellow Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim spoke highly of Calhoun after the game.

"George Blaney is a tremendous coach, I believe," Boeheim said. "But without Jim being there ... Jim Calhoun is one of the best coaches ever to coach in college basketball. I don't mean now, I mean period. For him not being here, it's a tremendous loss."

UConn (14-10, 4-7) has seven games left in its regular season, with a game against Cincinnati up next on Saturday in Hartford.

Calhoun, 67, has battled cancer on three separate occasions, but Schulman said his latest issue was unrelated. All indications are that Calhoun's leave was due to stress-related symptoms.